Preferences and experiences of family members witnessing cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a systematic review

Abstract

This systematic review aimed to examine the preferences and experiences of family members who had witnessed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Electronic searches were performed on Cochrane, JBI, Ovid, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. We included studies conducted among adult patients and family members that were published in peer-reviewed journals in English between 2013-2018. The studies were summarized by the researchers independently. Then, the summaries were compared, and a consensus was established among the researchers. A total of nine studies were included. Family members expressed that they wanted to witness the cardiopulmonary resuscitation and expected to have that decision respected by healthcare professionals. Although the number of studies were limited, family members who had witnessed cardiopulmonary resuscitation experienced less anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and grief. Further comparison studies are needed to identify the positive and negative experiences of family members who witnesss cardiopulmonary resuscitation.